HE'S NOT EVEN THE BEST ANDERSON UNITED HAVE EVER HAD

As the Brazilian midfielder Anderson prepares to pack his bags and move on to pastures new, another man of the same name might spring to mind.

Former England midfielder Viv Anderson was at Old Trafford between 1987 and 1991, making 54 appearances and scoring three times before joining Sheffield Wednesday.

The more popular Anderson among United fans is likely to be the homegrown talent who earned 30 outings for his country rather than the South American who never quite fulfilled his potential.

The expected departure of Anderson this week from Manchester United shows just what David Moyes has had to deal with at Old Trafford since he arrived. I first saw Anderson play for Porto as a teenager and he was superb – spraying passes around, making forceful runs from deep, posing a goal threat and oozing quality.

At Old Trafford his progress stalled, leading to questions about his fitness and attitude. Manchester United have been paying Anderson over £4million a year to sit on the bench and play badly.

And his contract still had 18 months to run after Sir Alex Ferguson gave him a life-changing monster deal in 2010. The financial situation at United means players earning that kind of money have to make a significant contribution.

WATCH Scroll down to see Anderson take on a corner challenge

Midfield problem: Anderson (left) has had limited game time under David Moyes at Manchester United

On the scene: Anderson first came to prominence as a talented teenager at Portuguese side Porto

Success: Anderson (far right) has blown hot and cold at United but claimed his fair share of trophies under Sir Alex Ferguson, including the World Club Cup in 2008

Earning a fortune and lacking ambition, Anderson is difficult to shift out of the club.

Moyes has had to deal with Rio Ferdinand openly questioning how the new manager goes about his business. He arrived to find an uncomfortable situation with Wayne Rooney vulnerable to a fans’ backlash after the previous manager stated he asked for a transfer. He’s had injuries to key players – Nemanja Vidic, Michael Carrick, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney – these can’t be replaced easily.

Moyes might have made mistakes changing so many backroom staff, he may have been too cautious tactically but I don’t think many of us thought he would get everything right.

However, if United win at Chelsea this Sunday and if they then win at Arsenal next month (big ‘ifs’, admittedly) the picture at the top looks very different for Moyes. The rest of their games around those two fixtures are all winnable.

That’s not to say they will win them all but this United side in any kind of decent form should pick up plenty of points. Tricky trips to Everton and Newcastle and the unpredictability of the Manchester derby in March will all prove a challenge.

But if Moyes somehow mounts even a fleeting title challenge after the problems of the first half of the season, it will be an incredible achievement for him.

Three more points about Manchester United: firstly, how come the manager has put his trust in Adnan Januzaj but refuses to do the same with another brilliant youngster Nick Powell?

United have been crying out for creativity and attacking threat from midfield yet Powell is out on loan at Wigan. Is it because he’s English? I can’t think of another reason.

Secondly, Januzaj needs to be snapped up by the FA as soon as possible. On Monday, Sportsmail reported how Kosovo are now allowed to schedule friendlies as they bid to become a competitive football nation.

It is believed that Januzaj and his father have ruled out representing Belgium, Albania and Turkey, leaving England and Kosovo as the remaining options.

If the FA do a good selling job, Januzaj
will be free to play for England at the 2018 World Cup. This needs to
be sorted out very quickly to England’s advantage.

Talent: Adnan Januzaj has been an impressive addition at Manchester United this season

Taking his chances: Nick Powell (right) is performing well while on loan from United at Wigan

Thirdly, Manchester United did an unbelievably good job in turning a stringy, scrawny teenage kid from Portugal into a man who is now regarded as the best footballer in the world. I’m talking about Cristiano Ronaldo.

The manager would have private bets on
goal tallies with his star talent, coaches did regular one-to-one
sessions with Ronaldo, which encouraged the player to do extra training
on his own.

Speaking to Real Madrid assistant Paul Clement this week,
he revealed Ronaldo still does extra training and is still keen to learn more from
the coaches he works with.

Fresh faced: Ferguson (centre) helped Cristiano Ronaldo develop into one of the world's best footballers

Deadly duo: Ronaldo (right) became a devastating finisher in his final seasons at Old Trafford before leaving

Take a look at me now: Ronaldo holds his second Ballon d'Or trophy in Zurich on MOnday evening

And don’t forget the club was patient with Ronaldo: in his first three seasons he showed a lot of promise and some true talent but progress wasn’t certain.

Well done United. But next time you put so much time and effort into producing such a talent, make sure he’s English please.

In June 2010 I was at talkSPORT’s World Cup studios in Johannesburg and decided to send a text to Adam Johnson. From the moment I saw Johnson play for Watford on loan I knew this kid would be a special talent and I followed his career closely.

One of the many, many mistakes Fabio Capello made ahead of that World Cup was to drop Johnson from his final 23. For the player it was a bitter blow, after he had put in some stunning performances for Manchester City in the second half of the previous season.

So I texted Johnson to ask if he wanted to give us an interview and share his thoughts on England at the World Cup. The next day I got a text back from him politely declining the offer, explaining that he was out partying in the USA with friends.

World at his feet: Adam Johnson was an asset for England before he was axed by Fabio Capello

I was shocked, but assumed it was his reaction to Capello’s unjust axe. Fair enough.

In recent years Johnson’s attitude has been questioned, and he’s found his way to the bottom of the table with Sunderland, left to reflect on better times while shining the medals he won at City.

I’ve always believed in Johnson’s talent and I hope the weekend hat-trick is the start of special things for him. Going to Wembley with Sunderland to face the club that sold him would be special, keeping his current club up would also be good.

Back on song: Johnson netted a hat-trick against Fulham at the weekend in a crucial clash

But forcing his way back into the England reckoning and going to the World Cup in Brazil would be a brilliant way to show the likes of Capello and Roberto Mancini just how wrong they were.

He creates and scores. If he gets his attitude right and stays consistent, Adam Johnson provides a really talented option for Roy Hodgson. I hope Johnson really goes for it.

Everton fans are screaming to anyone who will listen that Gareth Barry is the most consistent English midfielder around right now, and that he should be heading to the World Cup.

Barry has been the insurance that has allowed Ross Barkley to flourish this season, he’s been excellent so far.

He should be in Roy Hodgson’s thinking that’s for sure but there’s some serious competition for places in England’s midfield.

His international career is seemingly defined by that horror game in Bloemfontein when England were humiliated by Germany, in particular that fourth goal when Mesut Ozil left Barry for dead in a race.

Pick that one out: Gareth Barry celebrates a rare goal for Everton against Norwich

Barry looked like he was towing a caravan with a flat tyre through a sea of treacle. Painful.

But that shouldn’t be the lasting image of Barry for England – that would be unfair on a man who was dropped from so many squads and overlooked for far too long before finally becoming a regular. He never gave up on his country and was always available.

He had been injured before the 2010 World Cup, maybe he wasn’t fully fit and maybe that’s why he was so easily outpaced.

He’s in fine form but is it too late for one last crack at a World Cup with England? England should probably be focusing on the future to be honest, and there are plenty of young central midfielders impressing this season.

But if Barry gets his chance in Brazil, he needs to put in some special performances if that Germany memory is to be wiped out.

Shocker: Barry (left) had a hellish encounter against Germany in the 2010 World Cup in Bloemfontein

Too good: Thomas Muller (left) and Arne Friedrich (right) were part of the talented young German outfit

I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard Sportsmail’s Jamie Carragher say Luis Suarez deserved to be in the FIFPro Team of the Year ahead of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Did I hear that right?

Suarez has scored a lot of goals but failed to score against Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal this season and Liverpool lost all of those games.

Let’s get this straight: Suarez is a joy to watch, he’s fantastic but he’s got a bit of work to do if he’s to be compared with Zlatan, in my opinion.

Nicely done: Zlatan Ibrahimovic earned his place in the FIFPro Team of the Year ahead of Luis Suarez

Strong showing: Luis Suarez celebrates one of his two goals against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium

I actually want my team Peterborough United to lose on Tuesday night. I never thought I’d say that about them but four defeats in a row in the league has left promotion looking unlikely, especially given the way we’re playing. The whole club needs a wake up call and Tuesday's the night.

Manager Darren Ferguson seems to have started some sort of personal project to say the most outrageous things:

He talked up his squad at the start of the season and is now dismantling it.

He let defensive leader Gabriel Zakuani leave on a free last week claiming he had 'been at Peterborough too long'. Liverpool better get shut of Steven Gerrard soon by that absurd logic.

He said after Brentford had beaten us twice in the space of five weeks: 'I’d be happy to play them in every one of our remaining games to be honest.' How disrespectful is that?

After losing 2-1 at Swindon this weekend he claimed Posh, 'Were totally dominant from start to finish.' Clearly not.

And he added after that fourth successive defeat: 'I am confident we will still go up.' Very few fans share that optimism Darren.

Fergie Jnr also spent the whole of last season insisting we would not get relegated. He even convinced some fans, too. Not me. We went down.

Woe: Peterborough's Jack Payne looks dejected after Swindon Town went 2-0 up

Don’t get me wrong, I grew up watching this club losing 5-0 at home to Northampton and being totally useless in the Fourth Division. Now is a golden time to be a Posh fan.

And no I don’t want Fergie sacked – he’s the best manager the club has ever had.

But don’t feed fans a load of bull. Get the job done, and then take the plaudits. Sadly a few of the players have started to believe the bull and think they only have to turn up to get a pat on the back form the boss. An FA Cup defeat at home by non-League Kidderminster on Tuesday night could be the massive kick up the backside Fergie and some of the deluded players need before it’s too late.

If we somehow get a win, a total destruction handed out at Sunderland in the next round should do the trick.

The man in charge: Darren Ferguson (right) has his work cut out for him at Peterborough United